The complexities of Spanish Mission Diets: An analysis of Faunal Remains from Mission Santa Clara de Asís

Summary

The neophyte housing complex of Mission Santa Clara de Asís, one of the five Spanish missions established in the San Francisco Bay region during the California Mission Period, was excavated between 2012 and 2014. Excavations unearthed numerous refuse pits that contained a variety of faunal remains. Feature 157 was made up of three distinct multi-use pit sub-features that contained the remains of a variety of fauna. The assemblage dates to approximately 1777-1837 and contains several thousand bones. The fauna recovered from this feature highlights the complexity of feeding the mission’s residents illustrating consumption of both domesticated animals (provided by the Spanish Padres) and wild fauna, gathered by Mission Indians.